A Democratic Kansas State Representative criticized a bill currently being considered by the Kansas State Legislature that would ban the purchase of candy and soft drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by saying her obesity was not caused by eating sugary foods.
SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federally-funded welfare program that provides low-income families with assistance to buy “nutritious food essential to health and well-being.”
The bill in question, HB 2673, would direct the secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families to request a waiver to exclude candy and soft drinks from the federal government’s rules governing what is “eligible food” under SNAP.
The bill had a public hearing before the Kansas House Committee on Welfare Reform on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Roy Lenardson, a member of the Opportunity Solutions Project, a 501(c)(4) associated with the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), testified in support of the bill before the Welfare Reform Committee Tuesday.
“The question is, what is nutritious about Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, and Cheetos, and Twinkies? And how are sugary drinks and candy helping the issue of food insecurity? I don’t know,” Lenardson said. “But food stamps benefits should by milk, not Mountain Dew — that’s our position, and I believe that SNAP agrees with that.”
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Lenardson said the U.S. is facing a “ravaging epidemic of obesity and weight-related diseases” that could be managed or prevented by reducing the consumption of sugar.
Welfare Reform Committee member Rep. Heather Meyer, D-Overland Park, attempted to rebut Lenardson’s claims that consuming candy and soda cause obesity, and voiced concerns about how the bill would impact people in “food deserts.”
“So let me start, as a fat person, I can guarantee you that the reason why I’m fat is not because I eat candy and soda,” Rep. Meyer told Lenardson. “As someone who was a previous recipient of SNAP benefits, the purchase of candy and soda did not lead to my obesity.”
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“Obesity in general is a health condition that is not caused necessarily by the consumption of sugary foods and thinks like that,” Meyer said, adding that she has Type 1 Diabetes and cannot consume those foods.
“Please do not make those assumptions and don’t bring us evidence that are not from medical professionals that address the root causes of obesity,” she said.
Meyer argued that people purchase sugary foods with SNAP benefits because they live in “food deserts,” where she said “they only have access to processed foods.”
“They have very little access to fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses, and they often don’t have the ability to prepare those foods at home,” she said.
Lenardson responded by saying that although the issue of food deserts is real, convenience stores have made “tremendous strides” in providing more nutritious food.
“The food desert issue is real, I understand that our urban centers are suffering, but I’m not sure that has anything to do with buying soda and candy,” Lenardson told Meyer.
Both “candy” and “soft drinks” are defined terms in Kansas state law.
Candy is defined as “a preparation of sugar, honey or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops or pieces,” but does not include foods that contain flour.
Soft drinks refer to “nonalcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners” — but excluded from the definition are milk or milk substitute products, and beverages that are greater than 50 percent fruit or vegetable juice by volume.
Federal regulations on “eligible foods” currently prohibit the purchase of alcoholic beverages and tobacco with SNAP benefits.
Under the LePage Administration in February 2017, Maine requested a waiver from then-President Donald Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow the state to prohibit the purchase of soda and candy with SNAP benefits.
That request was denied by the USDA in January 2018, with the agency stating at the time that they “don’t want to be in the business of picking winners and losers among food products in the marketplace, or in passing judgment about the relative benefits of individual food products.”
Sam Adolphsen, policy director of the FGA, told the Maine Wire Friday that SNAP has “devolved into a free-for-fall where you can buy nearly anything you want.”
“If you go into any gas station, they’ve figured out ways to basically package up everything to be EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) eligible,” Adolphsen said.
“In the middle of an obesity crisis, where we’re spending more money than ever on healthcare, and life expectancy is going down, letting your major welfare program purchase the very things that cause that is not only wrong to taxpayers, but just makes no sense,” he said.
“[SNAP] is efficient if you’re just trying to hand things out,” Adolphsen added. “If you’re trying to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse, and make sure that only truly eligible people are getting the benefits, or if you’re trying to help people return to work and only stay on the program temporarily, then it’s not run well at all.”
Adolphsen pointed to major lobbying efforts from Coca-Cola and Pepsi as a contributing factor in the Trump administration’s 2018 denial of Maine’s attempt to ban soda and candy purchases under SNAP.
Fat people are lazy and ugly. Americans are fat because of processed foods and lack of mobility. It’s a fact. If all your food comes in a box and a plastic container inside of it it’s making you fat, ugly and reducing your over-all life expectancy.
Walk or ride a bicycle to work or school. If your commute is 5 miles each way or less you have NO excuse not to walk. You can up that to 15 miles each way and you’ll have NO excuse not to ride a bicycle. Yes, you can do both year round in Maine.
Dunkin’ isn’t helping either. Seriously, you idiots. The drive through line at the fast food sugar “coffee” stores is ridiculous. Also, stop buying weed. You’re funding America’s number one trading partner. Triad China.
Sugar,high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, plant based oils are all the cause of the obesity epidemic. Add to all those a lethargic lifestyle and you get your average American. Its so easy to grow your own food even with only a very small space. Cooking homemade food is vastly superior to any food you can buy else where. I can’t find a restaurant that can make food better than I make at home. Those that chose McDonald’s or even the most high end restaurant are missing out on how amazing food can actually taste.
I guarantee that the reason why anyone is fat is that instead of moving more and eating less, he (or she, for you equity activists) does the opposite. SNAP should be for legitimate temporary food purchases only.
The sooner all fat and morbidly obese people die off the quicker our healthcare costs will drop. It is a fact that obesity is expensive to treat so let them eat themselves to death quickly to lower the costs of healthcare to the rest of us.
The Democrates just want to make us happy so we can work for the rich and pay taxes to fil their needs as our leaders. Time to get rid of leaders like this who want to enslave us.
So candy and soda do mot make one obese? Of course no proof has been offered to support this ridiculous claim. Typical demo, that want their constituents to be fat, dumb and lazy. Previously they would settle for barefoot and pregnant buy they really do need to kill those babies.
There should be very strict limits on the good one can buy on SNAP. Beans, rice, inexpensive cuts of meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts. You should not be allowed to purchase products with sugars or soft drinks. If the convenience stores are bending the rules, fine them.
There is no way any law is ever going to be passed to limit buying of soda. The amount of profit the soda companies would lose will keep the lobbyists employed, Most of the problems with welfare can be traced right back to the cooperations that are profiting. Compare the cost of soda to the cost of milk and juice.
What does her fatness, being a highly paid rep (hopefully not eligible for SNAP!) have to do with restrictions on SNAP so that we arent feeding little kids crap? Liberals are ALWAYS victims, No?
Lack of discipline makes people fat.
It is amazing how they can run around being in total denial. Lifestyle and the types of food we eat are the main cause of obesity. All packaged food, all frozen nearly ready to eat foods, all sodas and all fast food menus are loaded with sugar, fat and calories. I am in my 70’s and don’t sit in a chair in front of a TV set. I still work and enjoy it and it helps both my physical and mental health also. Very important things today.
Advice and wisdom from the portly plumper.